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Hello! My name is Garrett Gaub and I am a senior majoring in Environmental Studies and Politics. Through the Community Fellow Program, I have been engaged in a fellowship with the Sustainable Living Center (SLC), a local nonprofit organization that helps educate the community about sustainable lifestyle decisions and facilitate sustainable lifestyle upgrades. Over the past semester, I have been busy planning the 2026 Public Workshop Series (PWS). My goal has been to curate a series that not only teaches practical skills but also fosters a deeper connection between Walla Walla residents and their local food systems

My work started over the summer when I met the amazing Sustainable Living Center staff. They have given me so much trust and freedom, allowing me to shape the workshop series around my interests and studies. This autonomy was both exciting and challenging. Early on, the SLC staff provided me with great guidance on what the community wanted from the workshop series, along with feedback on what went well and what didn’t from past workshops. I used this to draft an early workshop plan that we continued to refine over the course of the semester. I spent many hours developing ideas, coordinating schedules, and ensuring that our topics would be relevant to the needs and interests of the Walla Walla Community. 

Using my academic and personal interest in food sustainability, we decided to focus the PWS on food. We’ll be kicking off 2026 with a weekly mini-series covering food preservation. Jennifer Kleffner, a local farmer and blogger, will be hosting the mini-series with workshops covering pickling, fermentation, jams and jellies, and freezing and drying food. In February, writer Gwen Elliott will be giving a talk on better eating habits for the Earth and you.

As we move into spring, the focus shifts to food production. March and April will cover gardening, with workshops discussing home hydroponics and gardening basics. In April, we will also be hosting a collaborative event with Bon Appétit Management Company, where the community will be able to get a tour of Whitman’s dining hall, Cleveland Commons, and see how sustainable food service works in action. The final workshop of the series in May will be hosted by Erendira Cruz, the Executive Director of the SLC, and she will teach the basics of setting up a home composting system. Seeing this lineup come together has been the most rewarding part of the fellowship so far.

My experience with the Sustainable Living Center and the Community Fellow program has been really positive! I have learned so much about community engagement and marketing through the course of this fellowship. It has been a unique opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge from my Environmental Studies and Politics coursework to real-world scenarios. It’s exciting to get to create something for the community, all while integrating my own interests and passions. I’m incredibly thankful for the guidance and support I have received, and am looking forward to putting on the Public Workshop series in 2026!